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Two Killed as Truck Crashes into Car at Blockade Curve in Southern Phuket
By Sert Tongdee Friday, May 2, 2014
PHUKET: An angry reaction is anticipated from residents after a truck crashed and killed two people near a dangerous curve where Phuket locals staged a blockade earlier in the week.
The curve near the Wang Talang jewelry store in Chao Fa Road West took on the look of a disaster scene today as the six-wheel truck killed two people in a Honda Jazz then careened on into another Jazz and a pickup carrying water before crashing off the road about 10.30am.
The protesters who blockaded the road in Phuket's south said they had asked the Phuket Highways Department many times to reduce the dangers at the curve but had received no response.
A spokesperson said that three requests had been made to Phuket Governor Maitree Intrusud for a meeting. Eventually, the residents decided that the only way to achieve a result was by staging a blockade.
A short-term solution aimed at adding speed bumps to allay the residents' fears did no good today when light rain fell and the truck, moving at speed towards Phuket City from southern Phuket, caused two deaths.
The road bend in known colloquially as the ''100 bodies curve.'' Residents with houses on the bend have experienced many crashes.
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Comments
Comments have been disabled for this article.
Those wide speed bumps don't slow me or most other vehicles down.
When the black and yellow paint on the speed bumps gets wet, it will probably make them slippery, exacerbating the problem.
Posted by
Smithy
on
May 2, 2014 14:02
The bigger the vehicle, the faster they go, its not the curve, its not the road, time to educate the person behind the wheel...will never happen as long as the police do nothing about road safety.
Posted by
coxo
on
May 2, 2014 14:26
The speed bumps only make it worse, especially in the rain when drivers literally fly over them.
Any upset in car balance, especially at low grip levels in the rain, can cause an inexperience driver to lose control.
Remove the stupid speed bumps immediately.
Posted by
ThaiMike
on
May 2, 2014 14:44
evry day !!! we risk live evry moment !! 50% of truck driver, minibus, water truck, are drunk or under anfetamine or ya ba !!how possible continue like that !! terrible !!!realy frustrating situation !really sad!!
Posted by
y
on
May 2, 2014 15:19
Remove the speed bumps yes, and or simply slow down!
Posted by
coxo
on
May 2, 2014 16:21
At what time and when local people will block the road? Because I need to drive north soon...
Posted by
Whistle-Blower
on
May 2, 2014 16:44
The problem is always the driver not the road not the raining not the curve!
Posted by
angelo
on
May 2, 2014 20:20
A short-term solution aimed at adding speed bumps to allay the residents' fears did no good today when light rain fell and the truck, moving at speed towards Phuket City from southern Phuket, caused two deaths.
Say no more.
Posted by
Jon
on
May 3, 2014 07:30
ThaiMike - you are right. Remove the speed bumps, the u-turns and all the short-cuts used by motorbikes, but first of all. Remove ALL the stupid drivers.
Posted by
Retired roadworker
on
May 3, 2014 07:54
Retired Roadworker, your suggestion would remove many, if not most, drivers from the road, I like this idea. I know someone will say not all drivers are bad, but I have yet to meet one Thai driver, that would still hold a licence, in Australia, after 6 months.
Posted by
Laurie Howells
on
May 3, 2014 09:37
Editor Comment:
You clearly don't meet many Thai drivers, Laurie. Only a small proportion of road users on Phuket drive badly, and among them are a similar proportion of expats who also ignore the rules. Why? Because they can. There are people who understand what rules are for and others who ignore them. I grew up in an Australia with a death rate just as appalling as the present rate in Thailand. Education, road safety campaigns and enforcement are what makes you think Australians somehow seem better drivers than Thais. Pretending that Aussies are somehow intrinsically superior to Thais in any way would be the kind of claim only someone with a warped view of human nature would make.
Speed Speed Speed. Nothing wrong with the curve. All is related to Speed. Set up a speed camera and a fine of 5000 for speeding. I am pretty sure the problem will be solved. The normal penalty in Thailand is too low so nobody care.
Posted by
Mj
on
May 3, 2014 09:44
Ed, once again you bend and twist my comment.. I didn't say anything about "Thais", my comment clearly said, "many, if not most" meaning Thais and tourists/expats, yes, there are bad drivers on Aussie roads, I did not say otherwise, but Thailand has the second highest death rate, in the world, clearly outranking Australia. I have seen many drivers on Thai roads from Chiang Mai to Phuket to Mukdahan, and I can say this, very few, in any would pass a driving test in Australia, that includes the ones that I consider "good" drivers, you can deny it if you wish, but these are my observations and opinions and you are entitle to yours. But, I'll guarantee more readers will agree with me than you. No more discussion on this with you Ed, you always fail to acknowledge others have a valid opinion, unless they agree with you.
Posted by
Laurie Howells
on
May 3, 2014 10:40
Editor Comment:
There is nothing in your comment beyond the usual supposition and guesswork, Laurie. I've been on those same roads and the percentage who break the rules is not ''many, if not most'' but the one in 10 who create the impression in your mind that there are a whole lot more. Stop exaggerating and I might agree with you one of these days.
ED, your comment "I grew up in an Australia with a death rate just as appalling as the present rate in Thailand." is absurd to say the least.. by comparison deaths/100000 Australia 5.78, Thailand 38.1. Facts Ed, not something I made up.
Posted by
Laurie Howells
on
May 3, 2014 10:54
Editor Comment:
Your comprehension of what you read is not good, Laurie. I suggest you re-read my comment and try harder. Perhaps you don't remember Australia in the early 1960s, before the seatbelt laws and .05 legislation. In every state of your homeland, there was carnage on a par with Thailand today. My memory is fine but I wonder about yours. I am not comparing Thailand with a country where education, enforcement and safety campaigns have been in place for 50 years. You are. And that's foolish. Thailand's road safety is just like Australia's was 50 years ago.
Ed, Thailand and Australia both have seatbelt and safety helmet laws now, why do you need to go back 50 years, but if you have to, 1960, prior to seatbelt laws Australia's deaths/100000 was 24.0, still far less than Thailand today, with seatbelt, helmet and alcohol laws in place... I can go right back to 1925 if you want. There is a reason why Thailand is ranked 2nd most dangerous roads in the world, defend it if you need, but there's far more people that would disagree with you.
Posted by
Laurie Howells
on
May 3, 2014 13:39
Editor Comment:
I am saying that the answer is education and enforcement plus road safety campaigns, as has happened in Australia over the past few decades. You as usual, Laurie, are missing the point and offering nothing constructive, merely telling us stuff we already know - and even exaggerating the proportions of drivers who drive dangerously in Thailand. I don't care how many people disagree, Laurie. It's not a statistic that has any value, except perhaps to you.
Ohjeh. Laurie. That sounds awefully racist.
In Europe I know a lot of Thais with local driver licences. And there will be thousands in OS I am sure.
I feel a lot safer being driven by a Thai then have to drive myself in Thailand. But that is only anecdotically evidence and maybe a reflecion of my choice of company.
Posted by
Lena
on
May 3, 2014 14:53
I drive this curve twice every day and even it's only a short distance to the next lights people tend to speed up in this area a lot.
The bumps are not helpful to slow the traffic down, in fact now every time I slow down cars tend to come up extremely close to me as they seem not to understand why I am reducing my speed...
I enjoy my life in Phuket but I would appreciate some kind of speed-control system in combination with fines. Also, with so many "professional" drivers in Phuket, taking away the driving license in severe cases of cutting lanes, driving over red lights and going twice the speed limit might be the best "incentive" to support safer driving.
Posted by
Jakub P.
on
May 3, 2014 15:11
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Those wide speed bumps don't slow me or most other vehicles down.
When the black and yellow paint on the speed bumps gets wet, it will probably make them slippery, exacerbating the problem.
Posted by Smithy on May 2, 2014 14:02